From Audrey Hepburn to Princess Irene of the Netherlands: the brides who married in Pierre Balmain gowns

Pierre Balmain (1914-1982) used to say that dressmaking was "the architecture of movement". His narrow-waisted silhouette developed alongside Dior's "New Look", and his sharp shoulders and precise seams made his name far beyond his Paris atelier. Royal families and film stars trusted him - he dressed Thailand's Queen Sirikit for her tour of the United States. No wonder brides from the highest circles made their way to his door.

Audrey Hepburn married Mel Ferrer on 24 September 1954 in Bürgenstock, above Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. A Hollywood star, yet in a mid-calf wedding dress with no train: a sash tied in a bow at the back, a buttoned bodice, puffed sleeves, a high collar and a full skirt. Accessories - a small bag, silk gloves and a crown of roses. Not a single tiara - and nothing missing.

Hollywood has another Balmain bride. Patrice Wymore married Errol Flynn on 26 October 1950 in Nice, in a lace gown with a corolla silhouette, a corset, a sweetheart neckline and long detachable sleeves, with a ruffled collar. Her bouquet was a cascade of a single type of flower, and on her head she wore a hat and a short tulle veil.

The year 1964 brought two royal weddings in Balmain. Princess Irene of the Netherlands married Prince Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma on 29 April in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome - a wedding that cost her the right of succession to the Dutch throne. She wore white silk with Dutch lace, French sleeves, a boat neckline and an A-line skirt, with a lavish tulle veil and the 1884 Bourbon-Parma tiara, made for the groom's grandmother, Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal.

On 22 July that year, Princess Claude of Orléans married Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta in the parish church of São Pedro in Sintra, Portugal. Her gown was damask, with French sleeves, a stand-up collar and a straight cut, and a long cape falling over the train, while her high, neat chignon held the Savoy-Aosta family's "Knots and Stars" tiara.

Princess Anne of Orléans married Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies on 12 May 1965 in the Royal Chapel in Dreux. The dress had a discreet rounded train, long sleeves, a stand-up collar and a fitted bodice, made of Lyon lace and embroidered with the fleur-de-lis, the symbol of the Capetians. A mantilla-style veil echoed the motifs of the dress, and her high chignon was held by a historic jewelled comb.

The later Balmain brides come with longer stories. Archduchess Maria Beatrice of Austria-Este married Count Riprand von Arco-Zinneberg on 26 April 1980 at Niederaltaich Abbey on the Danube in Bavaria, in a gown with a V-neckline, a fitted top, softly puffed sleeves and a full skirt with a long train, wearing the Austria-Este tiara with two rows of diamonds. A year later, on 14 February 1981, Maria Teresa married Grand Duke Henri in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Luxembourg: a silk gown with a princess silhouette, long sleeves, a boat neckline, a basque waist, and ermine gloves and collar. The Manila lace veil was a family piece, and the tiara was Grand Duchess Charlotte's Congo tiara, made by Van Cleef & Arpels and gifted at a time when Congo was a Belgian colony. Beautiful jewellery with a heavy past.

Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg and Chantal of Orléans were Balmain brides too, but few photographs of their weddings survive. What does survive is the impression: none of these brides wore the trend of the season. That's exactly why their pictures still look perfect more than sixty years later. How many of today's wedding dresses will pass the test of time?